Veterans Stadium

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Philadelphia Veterans Stadium

The Vet
Location	3501 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148
Coordinates	39°54′24″N 75°10′16″W / 39.90667°N 75.17111°W / 39.90667; -75.17111Coordinates: 39°54′24″N 75°10′16″W / 39.90667°N 75.17111°W / 39.90667; -75.17111
Broke ground	October 2, 1967
Opened	April 10, 1971
Closed	September 28, 2003
Demolished	March 21, 2004
Owner	City of Philadelphia
Operator	Department of Recreation
Surface	AstroTurf (1971-2000) NexTurf (2001-2003)
Construction cost	US$50 million
Architect	Hugh Stubbins and Associates
Capacity	Baseball: 62,306 Football: 65,386
Field dimensions	Left field - 330 feet (100 m) Left center - 371 feet (113 m) Center field - 408 feet (124 m) Right Center - 371 feet (113 m) Right field - 330 feet (100 m) Backstop - 54 feet (2003)
Tenants
Philadelphia Phillies (MLB) (1971-2003) Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) (1971-2002) Philadelphia Atoms (NASL) (1973-1975) Philadelphia Fury (NASL) (1978-1980) Philadelphia Stars (USFL) (1983-1984) Temple University (NCAA) (1978-2002)

Philadelphia Veterans Stadium (informally called "The Vet") was a professional sports facility located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. It housed the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League from 1971 through 2002 and the National League's Philadelphia Phillies from 1971 through 2003. The listed capacity for baseball in 1971 was 56,371 and for football was listed with a 62,000 seat capacity. The 1976 and 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Games were held at the venue. The Vet also hosted the annual Army-Navy football game 17 times, first in 1976 and last in 2001. In addition, numerous concerts were performed here by artists ranging from The Rolling Stones and Genesis to Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd (on their final US tour in 1994). The venue also played host to religious events from annual Jehovah's Witnesses conventions to a Billy Graham crusade in 1992.

[edit] History

Following the move of the Philadelphia Athletics to Kansas City 10-years before and a fear of losing another professional sports franchise, Philadelphia voters approved a $25 million bond issue for a new stadium in 1964 to replace the dilapidated Shibe Park (opened in 1909) and Franklin Field. The vote had to go to the polls yet again in 1967 and approve another $13 million due to cost overruns. At a total cost of $50 million, it was one of the most expensive ballparks to date.

The stadium was named by Philadelphia's City Council for the veterans of all wars in 1968. As early as December 1969, the Phillies expected that they would play at Connie Mack Stadium in April 1970 and begin play at Veterans Stadium in May 1970.^[1] However, the opening was delayed a year due to a combination of bad weather and cost overruns. The stadium's design was nearly circular, and was known as an "octorad" design, which attempted to facilitate both football and baseball, unfortunately, as was the case with other cities in which this so-called "cookie-cutter" approach was employed (Washington, New York, Houston, Atlanta, St. Louis, San Diego, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh), the fundamentally different shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport.

The Phillies played their first game at the Vet on Saturday, April 10, 1971. The Phils beat the Montreal Expos, 4–1, before 55,352. Hall of Famer Jim Bunning was the winning pitcher while Bill Stoneman took the loss. Boots Day opened the game by grounding out to Bunning. Larry Bowa had the stadium's first hit and Don Money the first home run.^[2]

Fan favorite Lenny Dykstra delivered a controversial pre-game speech before the Phillies last home game at the Vet in 2003 in which he said "I had many great years in Philadelphia, but my best days were as a New York Met."

The final football game played at the Vet was the Eagles' 27–10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game on January 19, 2003. The Eagles moved into Lincoln Financial Field in August 2003.^[3]

The final game ever played at the stadium was on September 28, 2003. The Phillies lost to the Atlanta Braves that afternoon,^[4] but a ceremony that followed pulled at the heartstrings of the sellout crowd. Both former general manager Paul Owens and pitcher Tug McGraw made their final public appearances at the park that day. Later that winter, both men died.^[5],^[6] The last publicly-broadcast words ever uttered in the park were by veteran announcer the late Harry Kalas, who helped open the facility on April 10, 1971, paraphrasing his trademark home run call: "And now, Veterans Stadium is like a 3-1 pitch to Jim Thome or Mike Schmidt. It's on a looooooong drive...IT'S OUTTA HERE!!!" The team moved into Citizens Bank Park in 2004, with the first game being played there on April 12, 2004.

The ultimate end for the 33-year old stadium came with a record-setting (62 seconds) implosion on March 21, 2004. Frank Bardonaro, President of Philadelphia based AmQuip Crane Rental Company pressed the "charge" button and Nick Peetros, Project Manager for Driscoll/Hunt Construction Company pressed the "fire" button to implode the stadium ^[7] while Greg Luzinski pressed an imaginary plunger for the fans.^[8] A parking lot for the current sporting facilities was constructed in 2004 and 2005 at the site. On June 6, 2005, the anniversary of D-Day, a plaque and monument to commemorate the spot where the stadium stood and a memorial for all veterans was dedicated by the Phillies before their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On September 28 of that same year, the second anniversary of the final game, a historical marker commemorating where the ballpark once stood was dedicated. Granite spaces marking the former locations of home plate, the pitching mound, and the three bases for baseball, as well as the goalpost placements for football, were added onto the parking lot in April 2006 in western parking lot U.

[edit] Stadium Features

Veterans Stadium was a complicated structure, its seating layered in seven separate levels. The lowest, or "100 Level," extended only part way around the structure, between roughly the 25-yard lines for football games and near the two dugouts for baseball. The "200 Level" comprised field-level boxes, and the "300 Level" housed what were labeled "Terrace Boxes. " These three levels collectively made up the "Lower Stands." The "400 Level" was reserved for the press and dignitaries; the upper level began with "500 Level" (or "Loge Boxes"), the "600 Level" (Upper reserved, or individual seats), and finally, the infamous "700 Level" (General Admission for baseball), where some of the most passionate sports fans on the East Coast could be found. Originally, the seats were in shades of brown, terra cotta, orange and yellow, to look like an autumn day, but in 1995 and 1996, blue seats replaced the fall-hued ones.

At one time, the stadium could seat almost 71,000 people for football, but restructuring in the late 1980s brought capacity down to around 66,000.

The stadium was harshly criticized by baseball purists. Even by "cookie-cutter" standards, the upper deck was exceptionally high, and many of the seats in that area were so far from the field that it was difficult to see the game without binoculars. As was the case in most cookie-cutter stadiums, foul territory was quite roomy. While the Vet's size enabled the Phillies to shatter previous attendance records, during the years the Phillies weren't doing as well even crowds of 35,000 looked sparse. Approximately 70 percent of the seats were in foul territory, adding to the Vet's cavernous feel. There was no dirt in the infield except for sliding pits around the bases. In the autumn, the football markings were clearly visible in the spacious outfield area.

The Vet had been known for providing both the Eagles and the Phillies with great home-field advantage. In particular, the acoustics greatly enhanced the crowd noise on the field, making it nearly impossible for opposing teams to hear one another.

[edit] Playing surface

The field's surface, originally composed of AstroTurf, contained many gaps and uneven patches. In several places, seams were clearly visible, giving it the nickname "Field of Seams." It perennially drew the ranking of the "NFL's worst field" in player surveys conducted by the NFL Players Association, and visiting players often fell prey to the treacherous conditions resulting in numerous injuries.^[9] The NFLPA reportedly threatened to sue the city for the poor conditions, and many sports agents told the Eagles not to even consider signing or drafting their clients. The Eagles, for their part, complained to the city on numerous occasions about the conditions at the stadium. Baseball players also complained about the surface. It was much harder than other AstroTurf surfaces, and the shock of running on it often caused back pain.

Two of the most publicized injuries blamed on the playing surface occurred exactly six years apart. October 10, 1993: Bears receiver Wendell Davis had his cleat get caught in a seam while running a simple pass route. He tore both of his patella tendons, ending his career.^[10] On October 10, 1999, Michael Irvin suffered a neck injury that led to his premature retirement (The previously winless Eagles rallied from a 10–0 deficit and won 13–10).

The original AstroTurf was eventually replaced by a new surface, NexTurf, in 2001. The new surface was far softer, and reportedly much easier on the knees.^[11] However, the city crew that installed the new turf reportedly didn't install it properly, resulting in seams being visible in several places.

The first football game on the new turf was due to take place on August 13, 2001 when the Eagles played the Baltimore Ravens. However, Ravens coach Brian Billick refused to let the Ravens take the field for warm-ups when he discovered a trench around an area where third base was covered up by a NexTurf cutout. City crews tried to fix the problem to no avail, forcing the game to be canceled. Later, players from both teams reported that they sunk into the turf in locations near the infield cutouts. Team president Joe Banner was irate after the game, calling the Vet's conditions "absolutely unacceptable" and "an embarrassment to the city of Philadelphia."^[12] City officials, however, promised that the stadium would be suitable for play when the regular season started.

The problem was caused by heavy rain over the weekend prior to the game, which made the dirt in the sliding pits and pitcher's mound so soft that the cutouts covering them in the football configuration became mushy and uneven. Even when new dirt was shoveled on top, it quickly became just as saturated as the old dirt. The problem was solved by using asphalt hot mix, which allowed for a solid, level playing surface, but required a jackhammer for removal whenever the stadium was converted from football back to baseball (between August and October of each year).

[edit] Fans

Virginia Tech and Temple meet at the Vet in 2001

Fans who attended games in Veterans Stadium for a football game gained a reputation of being among the most vociferous in sports, especially those in the notorious 700 Level, the highest seating level in the stadium prior to the erection of luxury skyboxes behind that seating area. The stadium became famous for the rowdiness of Eagles fans, although it was not the site of the incident in which fans booed Santa Claus during a halftime show. (The Santa Claus incident occurred on December 15, 1968 at Franklin Field, the Eagles' home stadium at the time.^[13])

One of the more well-known examples of the fans' behavior was the 1989 follow-up game to what many called the "Bounty Bowl." On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1989, the Eagles had beaten the Cowboys at Texas Stadium, 27 to 0.^[14] In that game, former Eagles placekicker Luis Zendejas suffered a concussion during a rough block by linebacker Jessie Small after a kickoff. After the game, Cowboys rookie head coach Jimmy Johnson commented that Eagles coach Buddy Ryan instituted a bounty on Zendejas and Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman. Two weeks later, on December 10, they played the rematch dubbed "Bounty Bowl II" at the Vet which the Eagles won 20 to 10.^[15] The stadium seats were covered with snow in the stands. The volatile mix of beer, the "bounty" and the intense hatred for "America's Team" (who were 1–15 that season) led to fans throwing snowballs at Dallas players and coaches.^[16] Beer sales were banned after that incident for two games. A similar incident in 1995 at Giants Stadium during a nationally telecast San Diego Chargers–New York Giants game^[17] led the NFL to rule that seating areas must be cleared of snow within a certain time period before kickoff.

The Eagles fans' behavior during a Monday Night Football loss^[18] to the San Francisco 49ers in 1997 and a 34 to 0 loss to Dallas a year later^[19] was such that the City of Philadelphia assigned a Municipal Court Judge, Seamus McCaffrey, to The Vet on game days to deal with fans removed from the stands.^[20] Two years later, fans threw D-Cell batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew after he spurned the Phillies' offer to play with them, and wound up going back into the draft and picked by the Cardinals.^[21]

[edit] Famous Games and Incidents

An empty Veterans Stadium after one of U2's Zoo TV Tour shows in 1992.

• On June 25, 1971, Willie Stargell hit the longest home run in stadium history in a 14-4 Pirates win.^[22] The spot where the ball landed was marked with a yellow star with a black "S" inside a white circle until Stargell's 2001 death, when the white circle was painted black.^[23],^[24] The star remained until the stadium's 2004 demolition.

• One of the most notable events in the Vet's history was Game 6 of the 1980 World Series on Oct. 21. In that game, the Phillies clinched their first world championship with a victory over the Kansas City Royals in front of 65,838 fans. Tug McGraw's strikeout of the Royals' Willie Wilson was instrumental in their win.

• A very notable football game played at The Vet took place less than three months after the Phillies' title, and was the Eagles' 20–7 victory over the hated Dallas Cowboys in the 1980 NFC Championship Game, played on January 11, 1981, in front of 70,696 fans.^[25] This contest was famous because the Eagles chose to wear their white jerseys for their home game in order to force the Cowboys into their "unlucky" blue jerseys. At the end of the game, Philadelphia police circled the field with horses and dogs as they had done for the Phillies World Series victory; despite the police presence, Eagles fans successfully rushed the field.^[26]

• Veterans Stadium was host to the latest finishing game in baseball history, a double-header between the Phillies and the Padres that started on July 2, 1993 and ended at 4:40am on July 3. The two games were interrupted multiple times by rain showers. The Padres won the first game,^[27] and led in the second, but lost in a come-from-behind victory for the Phillies in the tenth inning on an RBI single by Phillies closing pitcher Mitch Williams.^[28] The second game ended at 4:40 AM with an estimated 6,000 fans at the ballpark.^[8]

• The Phillies clinched the National League Championship Series at the Vet twice; the first in 1983 over area-born Tommy Lasorda and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The second in the 1993 National League Championship Series over future divisional rivals the Atlanta Braves. 1993 was the last LCS with a two-division League format.

• The Phillies pitched two no-hit games at the Vet, the only nine-inning no-hitters in stadium history. Both were against the San Francisco Giants. Terry Mulholland pitched the first^[29] on August 15, 1990, in a 6–0^[30] Phillies win.^[31] Kevin Millwood pitched the second on April 27, 2003 and beat the Giants 1–0,^[32] upstaging the Phillie Phanatic's Birthday promotion that afternoon. The Montréal Expos' Pascual Pérez pitched a five-inning^[33] no-hitter shortened by rain on September 24, 1988. MLB changed its rules in 1991 to require that no-hitters be at least nine innings and a complete game to be recognized as such. ^[34]

• Another game that is best remembered by Eagles fans was known as "The Body Bag Game," which took place on November 12, 1990, when the Washington Redskins visited The Vet for a Monday Night Football game. The Eagles' head coach at that time, Buddy Ryan, was quoted as saying that the Redskins' offense would "have to be carted off in body bags." The Eagles number-one defense scored three touchdowns in a 28–14 win^[35] and knocked nine Redskin players out of the game, including both of their quarterbacks.^[36] The Redskins were forced to finish the game using running back/returner Brian Mitchell (who would become an Eagles player over a decade later) at quarterback.^[37]

• During the 1998 Army–Navy Game, a serious accident occurred when a support rail collapsed and eight West Point cadets were injured. That led to the call for new stadiums for football and baseball for the main stadium tenants.^[38]

[edit] Other Events at Veterans Stadium

[edit] Baseball

The Liberty Bell Classic was played at Veterans Stadium from its inception in 1992 through 2003. The Liberty Bell Classic is a Philadelphia Division I college baseball tournament. The original eight schools were the University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware, Saint Joseph's, Drexel University, Villanova University, Temple University, West Chester University, and LaSalle University. In the first championship game in 1992, the University of Delaware defeated Villanova 6-2.^[39]

The Eastern League Trenton Thunder played two home games at Veterans Stadium in April 1994. The Thunder beat the Canton-Akron Indians, 10 to 9, in front of 483 fans on April 20, 1994, and won 9 to 3 on April 21. Future-Phillies-broadcaster Tom McCarthy was in the booth for the Thunder during these two games.^[40]

[edit] Soccer

Veterans Stadium was the home field for the NASL Philadelphia Atoms and Philadelphia Fury. The Fury drew 18,191 for their opener on April 1, 1978 at the Vet which they lost 3-0 to the Washington Diplomats. The Fury averaged 8,279 per-match in 1978, 5,624 per-match in 1979, and 4,778 in 1980. The club was moved to Montreal in 1981.^[41]

The stadium hosted an August 2, 1991 exhibition soccer match between the US National Team and English professional soccer club Sheffield Wednesday. Sheffield featured John Harkes, the first American to play in the English Premier League. 44,261 fans saw the U.S. score two second-half goals to defeat Sheffield 2 to 0.^[42]

Philadelphia established a bid committee to host matches for the 1994 World Cup which was to be played in the United States. Phillies president Bill Giles was on the Philadelphia bid committee and hoped to use Veterans Stadium for games. In addition to the challenge of installing a natural grass field for the games, FIFA would have required the Phillies to vacate the stadium for a month to allow for sufficient preparation time prior to the matches. Giles could only offer 17-days.^[43] Of the nine venues eventually chosen to host matches, not one was home to a professional baseball club.

[edit] High School Football

Veterans Stadium hosted Philadelphia's City Title high school football championship game from 1973 to 1977 and in 1979. The series was suspended in 1980.^[44] With the entry of the Philadelphia Catholic League into what is now PIAA District XII (which was formed when the Public League joined the PIAA in 2002), the "City Title Game" was restored in 2008.

[edit] Photo Gallery

Home plate at Veterans Stadium, home to the Philadelphia Phillies for thirty-three seasons, is remembered with this granite and bronze marker in the parking lot near Citizens Bank Park.

A brief history of how the stadium was named and a tribute to veterans of all wars is on display outside where "The Vet" stood.

The historic marker shows the stadium's major moments.

Dedication plaque that once was attached to the vet.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Veterans Stadium

• Ballparks.com: Veterans Stadium
• Ballparks of Baseball: Veterans Stadium
• Ballpark Reviews: Veterans Stadium
• Ballpark Tour: Veterans Stadium
• Clem's Baseball: Stadium diagram
• MLB.com: 1976 All-Star Game Recap
• MLB.com: 1996 All-Star Game Recap
• Philadelphia Phillies: "Veterans Stadium: Field of Memories"
• SkyscraperSunset.com: Photos of the Implosion
• Stadiums of the NFL: Veterans Stadium
• 700level.com: "The Vet - A digital tribute"

[edit] Further Reading

• Bell, Jarrett (2003-01-10). "Philadelphia's 'Vet' has its share of stories". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/eagles/2003-01-09-the-vet_x.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-02. 
• Birker, Paul Arthur (2005). Veterans Stadium; Field of Memories. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-428-9. 
• Longman, Jere (2003-01-16). "PRO FOOTBALL; Football's Looniest Stadium Has Its Last Rowdy Hurrah". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/16/sports/pro-football-football-s-looniest-stadium-has-its-last-rowdy-hurrah.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/S/Stadiums%20and%20Arenas&pagewanted=all. Retrieved on 2009-04-02. 
• Merron, Jeff (2003). "Page2 - It's so hard to say goodbye". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/page2/s/ballparks/veterans.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-03. 
• Paolantonio, Sal (2002-12-12). "Eagles preparing to leave Veterans Stadium". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=1476046&type=columnist. Retrieved on 2009-04-02. 
• Pucin, Diane (2003-01-16). "Eagle Fans Raise Big Stink". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2003/jan/16/sports/sp-pucin16?s=g&n=n&m=Broad&rd=www.google.com&tnid=1&sessid=3125448dd1baed70f590decce747010f6bbf1d43&uuid=3125448dd1baed70f590decce747010f6bbf1d43&pg=0&pgtp=article&eagi=&cat=sports&page_type=article&exci=2003_01_16_sports_sp-pucin16. Retrieved on 2009-04-02. 
• Stark, Jayson (2003-09-29). "Final tug of Vet emotion; Veterans Stadium was never know for its cozy charm, but it sure wasn't lacking for memorable moments.". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1625830. Retrieved on 2009-04-03. 
• Westcott, Rich (2005). Veterans Stadium: Dismantled. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 1-41345-915-3.